Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maria Wen Adcock. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Maria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

When I first started writing children’s book manuscripts over a decade ago, without learning the craft first, I naively assumed it would be easy to do and a publisher would immediately want to publish my stories. Now that I’ve learned the craft, I look back at my old manuscripts and realize how much I didn’t know. Good writing takes practice and learning from others who are more experienced. For traditional children’s book publishing, having good writing skills and a love of working with children is necessary, but not enough. Like any business, authors have to understand the industry and study the craft. Writing books is a creative endeavor, but at the end of the day, it is a business, too. Publishers have to sell books. As such, it’s important to understand all sides.

To learn more about the craft of children’s book writing, I joined SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). This organization has regional offices all over the world. It connects with not just authors, but also agents and editors by holding workshops, conferences, and providing resources so authors learn about the industry and sharpen their writing skills. Once I started attending workshops and conferences and joining a writing critique group, I learned so much, and my writing improved.

In traditional publishing, agents and editors are the gatekeepers to getting a book published. They have criteria when reviewing manuscripts and determining who gets published. Word count is important, and so is having a strong story arc that shows the growth of the main character. In a children’s book, the child should be the “hero” of the story who solves the problem rather than having someone else like an adult give the child the answers. Another important creative writing technique is to “show, don’t tell.” This means that rather than simply telling readers what is happening, the author shows this through actions, dialogue, and other details.

By learning techniques like these and fine-tuning my stories through critique groups, I positioned myself to eventually acquire a literary agent and become a published author.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

After a career working as a marketing executive in the magazine publishing industry, I made a career change to pursue a childhood dream of becoming an author. I started by founding a multicultural parenting blog which led to appearances on TV and in print and online media outlets such as The Dr. Oz Show, Bloomberg News, Newsday, and Huffington Post.

Supporting diversity, equality, and inclusion are important to me. As such, I am honored to be a board member of Multicultural Kid Blogs, an organization supporting diverse parenting bloggers, and a co-host of the annual publishing event Multicultural Children’s Book Day. As a first-generation Chinese-American author, I often include multicultural themes in my writings. I am proud that after many years of perseverance, I achieved my dream of publishing a book. In 2023, my debut book, “It’s Chinese New Year, Curious George” was published by Clarion Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing. In 2025, my second book, “My Name is Ai Lin,” will be published by Sleeping Bear Press.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I was a child, I knew I wanted to write a book one day. But it wasn’t a straight path to get to where I am now.

As a child, I didn’t know how to become an author. All I knew was that I didn’t see characters who looked like me or had my background (Chinese American) in any books I read, nor did I see them on TV. As such, it seemed like being an author was something for other people — not for people like me. So becoming an author was a dream I tucked in the back of my head and forgot about for many, many years.

I went to college and majored in Communications at the University of Michigan. I worked in sales and marketing for consumer products companies like General Mills and Sara Lee. I got an MBA at Indiana University and then moved to New York City to work in marketing for magazines such as Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Real Simple, Southern Living, and more. As such, I got close to working in the publishing industry through the business side. I secretly longed to be on the editorial side but didn’t have the background or experience at that point.

Life changes often bring about other changes. In my case, having children made me reconsider my career choices. I wanted to work closer to home and spend more time with the children. During this time, my old childhood dream to write moved to the forefront. I decided to pursue it, starting by becoming a freelance writer, and then eventually founding my blog. Throughout this time, on the side, I pursued writing children’s books. I learned the craft by attending workshops and conferences and eventually became a published author.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

One of the most rewarding aspects of reaching my childhood dream of becoming an author is that I am able to write the books I never had as a child. As mentioned previously, I did not see myself represented in anything I read or saw in the media when I was growing up. This shaped who I thought I could become and what I could do.

If children can see themselves in books doing lots of different things and feeling pride in who they are, they won’t feel invisible. They can imagine being anything they want to be one day. They can believe in themselves and all the possibilities they can have in the future.

As an author, I can write about the unimaginable and make it real. Words are powerful, and I am honored to have the opportunity to share my voice with children through my books.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mariawenadcockauthor
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biculturalmama
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariawenadcock/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/biculturalmama
• Other: https://www.pinterest.com/biculturalmama

Image Credits
Photo Credits: Maria Wen Adcock